Transforming Communities: Key Elements for Comprehensive Community-Based Suicide Prevention - Developed by the Action Alliance, this resource presents seven key elements for comprehensive community-based suicide prevention, identified via a review of relevant programs, guidance, and models. The elements are key considerations that should guide community-based suicide prevention efforts—aimed at helping communities create policies, programs, and services that reduce suicide and improve individual, family, and community health. They are meant as broad guidance for the field, and can help inform the development of suicide prevention programs and future resources.

Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices - Developed by CDC, this resource helps states and communities take advantage of the best available evidence for suicide prevention interventions. The package highlights seven strategies for suicide prevention and the evidence of their impact on suicidal behaviors and related risk and protective factors.The two resources synthesize current knowledge about community-based suicide prevention and emphasize the need for comprehensive efforts that combine multiple strategies that work together to prevent suicide. The first resource, released by the Action Alliance, identifies seven key elements that should guide program planning and implementation. The second resource, released by CDC, outlines specific, evidence-based suicide prevention strategies for communities to consider as a part of their comprehensive approach. Together, these two resources address how communities can carry out suicide prevention efforts and what they can do.

Community leaders, suicide prevention program planners, and others can use these new resources to guide the planning, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive community-based suicide prevention efforts. The resources can also inform the development of future resources, such as step-by-step implementation guides, tools, and websites tailored to the needs of specific communities and settings (e.g., schools, workplaces, justice system).

To learn more about these resources and how they can be used, the Action Alliance will be hosting a 90-minute webinar on April 12. To register for the webinar, go to:http://bit.ly/Transforming_Communities and please share widely with your networks.